Coal stack fire near Seneca Lake may be put out in the fall

Published: May 17, 2003 8:00PM

Efforts are currently under way to develop an action plan for extinguishing a fire burning in an abandoned coal stack off Hatchery Road near Seneca Lake, but the actual efforts to extinguish the fire will likely not start until later this fall.

The State of Ohio has hired a private consultant to develop the action plan for extinguishing the fire in the coal stack, which was abandoned outside a deep mine in approximately 1927.

There are six steps that need to be completed before the actual work to put the fire out can begin, said Terry Van Offeren, manager of the state abandoned mine office.

The first step is to map the area where the coal stack is located, and that has been completed. Currently, the contractor is drilling the stack to obtain samples that will be used to determine how big of an area is burning and the composition of the coal stack.

Once that is completed, the contractor will complete an alternatives report and we (the state) will select an alternative (plan) for extinguishing the fire. They will then design an action plan, which will then be bid out for completion of the work. We estimate the design will be ready to bid by July 15. After we receive bids, we expect the actual construction will start in September, said Van Offeren.

While funding to pay the consultant ($27,390) has been secured, Van Offeren said they will seek funding to actually extinguish the fire in the form of a grant.

We have the money for the design phase, but we dont have the funds for the construction phase at this time, said Van Offeren. We expect to submit a grant request to the federal government for the estimated $120,000 project. We dont believe the cost to extinguish the fire will exceed that amount.

According to Van Offeren, efforts to extinguish the fire will not be as simple as battling an above-ground fire.

You cant just back a fire truck up to the coal stack and start spraying it with water because of the thickness of the material ... there is no good access point to the fire, said Van Offeren.

Instead, you have to isolate the area that is burning, dig a trench around it, excavate the burning section from the stack and then dowse it to extinguish the fire. After that, you can reclaim the area.

It is not known exactly what started the fire, or when it started.

There are signs that brush was burnt near the coal stack, or it could have been started by internal combustion, said Van Offeren. The important thing is there is enough coal in the stack to sustain the fire for a long time.

While flames are not usually visible above ground, smoke from the fire and sulfur by-products are visible on the surface of the coal stack, which is overgrown with trees, brush and vegetation, as the fire smolders below ground.

The coal stack is comprised of waste coal from the previous mine, as well as other materials native to the area.

It is the coal that was not good enough to sell, said Van Offeren.

The coal stack is currently burning on its eastern end, although there are signs the western end was also once on fire.

There is a history of fire burning for some time in this coal stack, said Van Offeren. There is red dog (coal refuse after burning) at the west end of the pile, which indicates it was also once burning.